Handheld tools, and in particular, electronic handheld tools, come in many varieties, sizes, and shapes. There are, for example, hand-held electronic stud finders, hand-held electronic tape measures, such as sonic tape measures, hand-held laser pointers, laser line generators, laser levels, etc., all of which have been developed to aid a builder, a home repair person, or other person in the process of constructing buildings, walls, etc. or in the process of hanging pictures, shelves, etc. on already existing structures.
It is generally known to provide such hand-held devices with a belt clip to aid the user in storing the device on his or her body when not in use. However, such belt clips typically extend out from the housing of the hand-held tool in order to provide a space between the tool housing and the belt clip to be used to attach the tool to a belt or other support structure for storage and carrying. These known belt clips therefore produce a tool having an uneven surface that may not be desirable from a utilitarian standpoint, such as when it is desirable to have the tool sit level on a surface such as a table for making measurements, or when it is desirable for the tool to take up minimal amount of space in a storage container, such as a tool box or a drawer. In addition, the belt clip can interfere with the operation of electronic handheld devices, such as those that include buttons and/or switches or those that need to be placed flush against a wall or other surface during use.